The Carnies Are Here!

And no, we're not in Deliverance.

It's the Poultry Festival! Before you laugh, let me explain...

In South Carolina, every town (no matter how small) has a festival. Our town has the Poultry Festival, Irmo has the Okra Strut, Salley has the Chitlin' Strut, Gilbert has the Peach Festival, etc... Apparently its a large source of income for these small towns to have these festivals. Ours happens to be the Poultry Festival because of the chicken farms and feed mills in our area. (Yes, we are very rural).

It's a big stinkin' deal. Everybody in town decorates their yards with chickens and roosters (not live ones!) It's the one time of year you can count on even the shadiest (not as in shade trees, as in "scary") houses to have their grass cut. And its the ONLY time of year that our dear neighbor Gene shaves his face. Ever. So you can see what a big deal it is!

Our town of about 5,000 people grows to a population of over 45,000 in one day. That's enough people to fill half of Jordan-Hare. (And for all you "Dawg" people, that's Auburn's stadium). There is a parade in the morning, that goes right in front of our house. I just love it. It's so insanely Southern. We all sit on the front porch in the rocking chairs, under the ferns, with the porch railing draped in American flag bunting, waving at the Little Miss Poultry Festival as she rides by in her 1969 Ford Mustang, sipping our sweet tea.

The next street over from ours is Main Street, where all the "stuff" happens. There are over 100 arts and crafts vendors, selling their wares. And at the end of Main Street, is the carnival. There is a ferris wheel, kiddie rides, the dunking booth, you name it. This thing rivals the State Fair. And of course, along with the rides, comes....CARNIVAL FOOD! I'm telling you, people, it is NOT GOOD to be able to smell funnel cakes from your front porch. It's even worse to know that I only have to walk 300 yards to get one in my mouth.

There are four stages set up within 1/4 of a mile from our house, where random churches, bands, dance studios, and what-have-yous will perform starting Thursday night until Saturday around midnight. We can hear the music all day, which is really nice. People will be walking down the street in front of our house all day long. It seems the whole town comes together for one weekend, everybody is laughing, waving, visiting their neighbors.

If you all can't tell, I very much look forward to this each year! It gives me such a sense of community, and I just love how "Southern" it is, to be able to see (and smell) everything from the front porch. If you're in town this weekend, please, come on by, get yourself a funnel cake!